METHOD

$19,000

124

METHOD is an artist’s expression delivered in feature-film format
that questions identity and the purpose of creating it.

After admitting to severe social anxieties, Nicole had this to say about the development of METHOD:

“When I started observing social behavior more closely, it
became unsettlingly apparent that everyone is who they are because they perform that way.”

– Eckenroad, N.

“If man is a
sapient animal, a tool making animal, a self-making animal, a symbol-using
animal, he is, no less, a performing animal…” (Victor Turner The Anthropology
of Performance 1986: 81)

“It was unsettling to think that what I knew about myself,
was an act. Of course I understood
that the circumstances and events of our early lives were huge contributing
factors as to why we wanted to perform in certain ways, but now nothing seemed
fixed or understood about human behavior.
When you see people this way, you start to take blame away from some and
add it to others in the greater scheme of the world– things shift. I had a new, for lack of a better word,
understanding of life. When everything, for me, was reduced to
how people perceived… anything, I questioned the purpose of it. This question is what complicates the
human experience – having profound thoughts and wondering why you exist to have
them. When you identify that in a space alone in your head, all you have left
is art."

"I wanted to explore what would happen when someone who knowingly
relied on putting-on-an-act, suddenly realized she never thought she had ever
been sincere; someone who could easily convince herself that she was a
different person, because she had so much practice tailoring her own character. Nicole Grace is a person who could have
continued to take the security of her parents, stayed in Hollywood, and been
commercially attractive, but she wants life to have a 3-act-structure. I think most of us do, but we’re not
aware of what we’re seeking out.
Beneath her masks, Nicole knows it, and at some point, it will wreck
her. But it’s dramatic, and that’s
how she would have wanted it.”

– Eckenroad, N.

Synopsis:

Nicole
Grace, a young LA based actor, is blacklisted from West Coast casting when she
is caught lying about her representation.
A year later, Nicole’s documentary filmmaker friends follow her
cross-country move to Philadelphia where she prepares to resurrect her career
with the guidance of a more dedicated agent and a focus on the Method practice;
she is driven to become a perfectly malleable medium for the art of film.

She has a promising
start, getting the attention of casting directors for mainstream films, and
seems to be on the right track - but it’s not enough. She begins to suffer the pattern of losing promised roles to
the young Hollywood elite. While
this is a familiar struggle for unknown talent, Nicole blames it on her lack of
full commitment to Method acting and increases the pressure to lose more and
more awareness of herself as a mere performer.

Damaged by the
politics of casting, Nicole chokes an opportunity to keep from losing it. She becomes
reality-based character, Tanya Patterson, leaving the filmmakers on a
distressing search for their friend and subject matter.

Timeline and progress chart:

Where the money will go:

Up to this point in production, METHOD has been completely self-funded. Friends and family have donated their time and talents to the film to make this possible, but we are reaching a point where we need additional support to lock down locations, transport cast and crew, and make sure they have food to keep them energized during the making of the film.

If there is anything left from the campaign after production is complete, it will be used for post production and fees associated with legal rights and submissions to film festivals.

Our goals for the film:

Our goals for METHOD are admittedly ambitious, but METHOD was always an ambitious piece from the beginning - both in the grand nature of what we hope to communicate and in the scheme of production. The filmmakers are seeking guidance from their industry mentors to give the film an opportunity at some of the most respected festivals in the world. With their help, we can get festivals to start paying attention to our film and the penetrating questions it poses, before it is even completed. Our goal is to get the world to watch.

The documentary crew behind METHOD:

Who is Sara:

Sara Yoko HowardisNicole's friend, Sara. A compelling and dynamic actor playing a frequenter of gum commercials. Within the first minutes of METHOD, you'll become attached. She knows Nicole the best that anyone can, and draws things out of her that would otherwise be kept a secret. For that reason, she runs the risk of being cut from Nicole's life, but you'll hope she hangs on.

Important things to know about our Kickstarter campaign:

• All of the money from this campaign will go to the production of this film. None of the money raised serves as payment to the filmmakers.

• When you make a pledge to the film, you are only committing to a donation if the film is fully funded. Your card will be charged if and when the project reaches its fundraising goal of $19,000 at the end of the campaign. Unfortunately, if the film is not fully funded, we don’t receive any of the pledges and the rewards cannot be delivered.

• The campaign has a hard deadline of Sunday, October 28th at 6:30pm.

How can you help:

You can email friends and family with a link to our Kickstarter page, share it on facebook, post it to an online forum, or tell people who you think might be interested in the film about the campaign.

Risks and challenges

We are making Method with an incredibly low budget, but Nicole designed the project to survive on very little. The film is a faux documentary that works in a very spontaneous fashion, and requires little to no set-up. This allows much more shooting to be done in a day and eliminates equipment rentals - all of the equipment is owned by Nicole. In addition to this, the crew is made up of a close network of young artists who are willing to make the film merely for the opportunity to collaborate on a great work with people they respect and admire. The crew only needs meals and transportation.

Our film also requires locations all over the country - airports, houses, casting offices, bus terminals, restaurants, studios, etc. Nicole demands that the film remain as true to a behavioral documentary as possible, and asks that preplanning the scenes be extremely limited and this includes location agreements. The risks are obvious - we never know what could happen. Nicole and the rest of the performers are trained improvisers and have been using obstacles to benefit the verisimilitude of the film. The more surprises, the better.

Nicole has been consistently working on large scale films as an Art Director, Art Researcher, Illustrator, and Graphic Designer. Some of these tiles include: Michel Gondry's, "The We and The I," Ron Howard's "Dark Tower," The Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis," and Tony Gilroy's "Bourne Legacy."

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

"You is kind, you is smart, you is important." With a big virtual hug, you'll also get the credit, the uncut footage of Nicole, and a DVD of the completed film after its premier, with additional footage.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

You've helped our crew get to location in upstate New York! For this, we'll give you the credit, the footage, the DVD, the signed poster, and a page of one of Nicole Grace's journals from before the events of the documentary.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $225 or more
About $225

Well look at you. For this wonderful contribution you'll get the credit, the footage, the DVD, the signed poster, a page from Nicole's journal, and sides from a film Nicole prepared for, marked with her original script notes.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $350 or more
About $350

Thank you for helping us to rent additional equipment needed for the weekend shoot in upstate! To show you our gratitude, you will receive the credit, the footage, the DVD, the signed poster, a page from Nicole's journal, the sides, and an hour-long Q&A with the filmakers over coffee in either Philadelphia or New York.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

We really have to up the ante for this kind of contribution. We are happy to present to you the credit, the footage, the DVD, the signed poster, a page from Nicole's journal, the sides, the Q&A, and access to a shoot day on location in Upstate New York.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

We hate taxes too. No, we're guessing you donated this much only to see that the project gets made. We are extremely thankful, and still want to give you some other things to show for it. You will get the credit, the footage, the DVD, the signed poster, a page from Nicole's journal, the sides, the Q&A, a day on set, and a filmed reading of a monologue you, or someone you know, write(s) for Nicole.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,000 or more
About $2,000

We are honored in advance that you would put this much or more towards our film and allow us to have creative freedom. With life-long appreciation we would like to give to you: the credit, the footage, the DVD, the signed poster, a page from Nicole's journal, the sides, the Q&A, a day on set, the filmed monologue, and a limited edition hand painted "Method" mask.